Hope this would be in the right place since we are talking about tires. What tubes are you guys using? I have not changed my front tire yet. I am waiting on the new bearings and seals to come in but need a tire tube. I had read that unless you are really doing some serious off roading stay away from the heavy duty tubes because they may be too much. I could be completely wrong on this. I have no experience with tubes in quit some time.
HD tubes are not "too much" what they are is a pain in the ass to get into the rim. Since they are so thick they are stiff and stiff makes it hard to fish the valve stem into the rim. They are also bulky to pack into a fender bag or luggage.
I'm more than happy with Karoo3 on front & Heidenhau K60 rear Although I'd like more grip on the front on wet tar (my ZRX1100 is on Pilot 4's front & rear, now that is wet weather grip)
rear stock metzeler on, 20.500km just 500km left to be flat. I ask for TW302 to replace yet. 85% tarmac 15% dirt
I've a Karoo 3 on the front & Heidenhau K60 on the rear, Terra, very impressed with both tyres although not over confident of Karoo on wet/greasy tar
Continental just came out with their new TKC 70 which looks like a good option for those of you who don't see much dirt. Not sure when it might be available. http://www.conti-bike.co.uk/viewmorenews.asp?id=195
hey, i run my tr strada on the metz tourance , been travelling along the east coast of australia from deep tasmania now on north coast along back roads and the metz is awesome in wet ,muddy and dry conditions. by the way i need extra ponies how do i derestrict trigger ??
I've got a TKC80 (front) and K60 (rear) sitting at my house waiting for me to install before my trip. That K60 is a stiff tire. The TKC80 should be a breeze, but that K60 I can tell is going to take a liberal amount of windex and a bit of cussing. I hope to report that they hold up as well as others have reported. 5500 miles, 2500 miles of that being dirt/gravel, the rest pavement. As long as they make it home I'll be happy, and then I can put the 6k mile tourances back on as they seem to have a good couple thousand miles left in them.
On dry tar the Karoo on the front exhibits amazing grip & very quick turn-in, I use 25psi on the road (ultra heavy duty greased tube in the tubeless tyre) 20psi on the dirt (as there are no rim locks) - on wet tar I'm not that impressed - on my Birdsville ride, proved great in sand, gravel & mud The photos I posted showed condition after 5,000klm
hey fellow riders , new in this forum business but;again my metz tourance front and rear { originals with about 6000 kms, 60%road 40% dirt,sand,mud}are still performing beautifully , last weekend did about 700km along the oxly to walcha,to uralla to armidale to dorrigo to overnight in bellingen on to southwest rocks, crescent heads and home to port macquarie ,chasing and hassling 2gs800's ,2gs 1200's 1 amazing diavelstrada {with great jockey},1klr650 {husky was way over it..}and 1 solid vfr12000 {amazing handling so big,good solid rider, serious}along back roads, dirt roads, 2 crossings,& i introduced some good controlled slow sliding ....love my husky so well mannered , and safe tyres anyhow , oh yes ,tyres , metz's great
I've got 6k miles on the stock metz tourance. I'd guess they still easily have another 2-3kmiles left in them -- for you metric people that works out to about 10,000 kms on them now and expecting as much as 15,000 out of them. They are wearing really well, but they'll be coming off this weekend in favor of TKC80 up front and a K60 in back.
Hassling the 800's I believe. I also believe the 2 1200's needed better jockey's. If you get your nearest dealer to de-restrict your bike, first step is give the mechanic a quick upper cut to get his attention. Then second say "DON'T FORGET TO RESET THE TPS". Lastly give him one more upper cut from me for forgetting the above task then tell them to hurry up and fix my bloody bike! We'll have ta catch up one day. Cheers Q
My Terra came Metzeler Saharas. Down to the wear indicator bars on the rear but he front still looks good after 8000 kms. I can't fault them other than the low mileage for the rear. A K60 goes on the rear tomorrow. Hoping for much more than 8000 kms out of the K60!
My K60 rear at 5K, still good grip although squared-off noticeably & starting to get a bit nervous cornering I'll most likely replace with another K60 - so posts indicate Mitas also good - I'd like to see some posts regarding the new TC70 on the rear - I prefer something a little more aggressive for the front
